"I bought my Golf GL in March 1998 and still have it as of October 2013. I thought I would buy a Japanese car but test drove the Golf as part of thorough research and was instantly converted. It is very peppy and maneuverable and fun to drive (I have a manual transmission--don't know about the automatic version). It has been very reliable, the clutch has had to be replaced but after 208,000 miles I expect to wear that out. Other than that it did develop an oil leak last year. I have heard VW cars have electrical problems and this one did have the Service Engine light come on twice for no reason when it was fairly new but I took it into the dealership and they figured out nothing was wrong and got it to turn off. I love the handling and it has headroom for my six-foot tall husband and plenty of room for two kids in the backseat. My only wish is that it got better gas mileage (I am able to get about 30 mpg which is not bad, but not as good as some other small cars). I would highly recommend this car and have been very happy with it."

"I fell in love with the car when I saw it but after 6 months of nothing but problems I hated that car. The parts are expensive, its very hard to find a good mechanic for it and once it has a problem it will break down every chance it gets. Horrible horrible car"

"Very reliable, best fuel economy ever! Very easy to manuever, very safe passenger vehicle. Very convienant when I needed to haul things in the trunk or with the seats folded down, and still have 3 passengers safely secured and drive long trips without any worrys. Excellent from the factory vehicle alarm system. Volkswagon German manufacturing is all around very useful in my opinion. I only wish it didnt get rear ended and totaled I would still be driving it now, and manual 4 wheel drive would have been the only option to make it a perfect vehicle in my opinion."

"This has been a very trustworthy, sporty, fun car. I have never experienced any major problems in the 13 years I have owned it. I have taken excellent care of it though. I call it my "little champ" because it's been so good to me. I get amazing gas mileage, still to this day."